Golden Eyes
by JoshandAmiHerondale
Summary: "there was a high pitch wail behind me and a blade above my head, not aiming for me, but protecting me from the demon I thought I killed. I lifted my head to see who was holding the blade and made eye contact with liquid gold." - OC Story based after Jace and Clary. Rating may change.
1. Chapter 1

I stared into the blackness of the train window, staring at the silhouette of the mundane world outside and the reflection of mundane lives going on behind me. A business man in an expensive suit, trying to concentrate on his word document. Two young children, opposite the man, sat screaming and arguing over a DS game.

I decided long ago I would never have kids. Most people end up giving them away or abandoning them. It makes me wonder what the point of it is. Just then, the assumed mother of the children thwacked the older one on the arm.

"Ow!" he wailed.

"Shut up then!" she hissed at him. "You're embarrassing me." I smiled a little and turned back to the blackness of what I assume was a New York tunnel. I looked at my watch. It read 3:45am; though, not that looking at my watch would be of any help; I have yet to change it to New York time.

"Attention all passengers: next stop 57th street Manhattan. That's 57th street Manhattan" announced the speaker above my head. I stretched my arms above my head, arched my back and shook my head to wake myself up. I then proceeded to stand up to get my bag out of the holder above.

Once off the platform, I took the subway stairs two at a time, desperate to breathe some fresh air. The train was stuffy and hot, though as I reached the surface, the smell wasn't much better; air pollution from the busy New York streets and the smell of hotdogs filled my nose, causing me to grimace. Not much better than London, if I was being honest.

I looked along the street. It was narrow, with a jungle of concrete buildings towering over it like trees, and a large green area in the distance. Although here, in America, they call it a park, my definition of a park includes swings and a climbing frame. The type of place children love to play. The type of place I avoid. I looked at my watch again. 4:00am; New York is five hours behind London so that makes it 11:00pm. Brilliant. Time to get the map out.

Well, I say map; it's the most pathetic excuse for a map I've ever seen. Charlotte drew it for me before I left. I twisted and I turned the map every possible way. I didn't care how touristy I looked; I didn't have a clue where I was. Charlotte said the New York Institute was on 7th Avenue, off 57th street. _Like I knew what that meant, _I thought bitterly.

Once I had pinpointed my location, I turned around and began walking. The first thing I passed was what looked like a rundown club. The neon sign above the door read 'Pandemonium'. Music could be heard from the street, as it thumped through the wall. The Institute had to be around here somewhere. I turned down an alley, sure I was following the right path, only to end up at a dead end. I sighed and turned again, walking back towards the club. _This is ridiculous. Where's a girls sense of direction when she needs it?_

I wandered down the street, clinging on to my rucksack with one hand, and holding the map in the other. I was trying quite hard to not look lost but I started to get the feeling that I should just stop and ask for directions. I hated asking for help. I looked around for options. There was the queue of drunken teenagers outside the club, a couple of bouncers the size of doorways guarding the entrance and a guy peeing into a bush. My options weren't looking very promising. I began to think that the bouncers were my best choice when something caught my eye. The glow of a seraph blade- I'd recognise it anywhere.

I watched as four dark figures slid past the bouncers into the club. As much as I didn't want to follow them into whatever fight they were about to get into, I definitely wanted a hot shower and a warm bed. The only place that had that and would take me is the Institute. Seeing as I didn't know where that was, this was my best option. I went into the alley down the side of the club and quickly drew an Unseen rune on my forearm with my stele. I then armed myself with the entire weapons contents of my bag. This consisted of three seraph blades, and a dagger I already had on the inside of my boot. I ditched my bag behind the dumpster and entered through the back door of the club. The heat hit me like a brick wall, the music numbing my ear drums it was so loud. I centred myself, and scanned the room. There were three exits, including the one I came through, and four shadow hunters (five including myself). They were spread around the room, looking with narrowed eyes through the fog and laser lights for someone, or something.

I followed their eyes to the crowd. It was full of mundanes. Drunken mundanes. Laughing and dancing mundanes. Mundanes grinding up against each other with lust filled eyes. Of course they couldn't see me, or any other shadowhunter in the room for that matter. We were hidden behind the glamour. Suddenly a boy caught my eye. He looked highly out of place. He was neither shadowhunter nor mundane. He was something else entirely. He was huge, with broad shoulders and about 7ft tall. I looked at his hands as his fists unclenched and his fingernails grew claws. My eyes widened in disbelief. Partly because I noticed was the only shadow hunter in the room to realise that he wasn't a mundie, and also because he was heading straight for curvy brunette girl in the corner.

_What were these idiots doing? Couldn't they see him?_ The demon stopped a couple feet away from the brunette girl, standing legs apart, staring at her. He was going to go for her at any minute, I knew that, and I seemed to be the only one of us noticing that all this was happening. He was raising his claws, and I was already running for him. I ran past him and with a clean slice I took his hand with me. He fell to his knees in agony, cradling his now stubbed arm. He looked around confused, then looked up at me. I was standing in front of him, blade dripping with his black blood.

"Shadowhunter," he hissed, malice in his voice. I couldn't help but give a little half smile.

"Demon," I replied mockingly, as if we were old enemies.

He lunged for me; I spun out the way, blade outward, and sliced open his chest. This just made him more pissed off it seemed, as this time he came running right at me with full force. I did the same, but with a second to spare before impact, I slid to the floor and skidded between his legs, slicing yet another cut into his thick skin. He dropped to his knees, collapsing to the floor with a thud, before laying still in a pool of black blood. He'd be back in his own dimension in no time. I turned my back on him, and went to find one of the useless shadow hunters I followed into the club.

I looked around the room but saw no one. Maybe they ran off scared. _Aw bless 'em, never fought a demon before._ Just then, there was a high pitch wail behind me and a blade above my head, not aiming for me, but protecting me from the demon I thought I killed. I lifted my head to see who was holding the blade and made eye contact with liquid gold. A beautiful boy around 17 with thick golden curly hair, high cheek bones, a strong jaw line and gold eyes framed by thick eyelashes. I realised I should properly do something instead of just standing and staring at him.

I reached for my other seraph blade and turned, but the hand that I regrettably left attached to the demon's other arm, swung for me. A piercing pain shot across my right shoulder, and continued down across my collar bone to the middle of my chest. I fought back despite the pain; I made eye contact with the boy who was standing over me. He nodded and we both lunged. The boy kicked the demon back, and it lost it's balance. My vision was blurred but I let lose all my fury and my blade as it opened its mouth to hiss at the boy. I plunged my seraph deep into the demon's chest, where someone would normally have a heart, and it fell to the ground, convulsing in fits before turning to ash, and returning back to its dimension.

I too fell to the floor. The loss of blood was obviously more than my body could take and the pain was so immense I couldn't focus on anything else. As I was fading, I looked up and the last thing I saw was gold.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys:) Josh and Ami here. We're so grateful for the response from our first chapter. Unfortunately we're not going to be able to update much in the upcoming weeks due to exams but in the summer holidays we'll be uploading a chapter every week. Keep reviewing and DFTBA! (I also apologise if there are any typos in this chapter, I just finished making a cosplay costume and I am very tired - Josh)**

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The light behind my eyelids woke me. The back of my head throbbed, and the dim light of the room, as I cracked open my eyes, made it worse. As my vision returned, I found four people staring back at me; not something you'd usually want to wake up to. I instantly shut my eyes. I heard a low laugh from one of the people. _Damn, they know I'm awake_.

I opened my eyes fully this time and took in my surroundings. It was an infirmary room, just like the one back at the Institute in London, with stone walls and empty beds. All empty except my own. The fireplace was the other side of the room, allowing the cold to creep into my sheets and make itself at home. It was like a mini hospital in a church; it had high ceilings and huge windows. A table lay at the end of the hall, with medicines and cloth. Cloth with blood on it, probably my own.

I gave in a looked above me. First, I saw a girl. She was a little older than me with a slender body, long, fiery red hair, a rounded face and dark golden eyes. Then there was a tall middle aged woman with long thick black hair that was in a ponytail and draped over her shoulder. She had big brown eyes and a beautiful face. I couldn't help but admire her stunning beauty. An older woman stood beside her, with long dark grey hair. The woman was aged but she looked a lot like the brunette, as if her beauty was just faded with time. I began to wonder if they were related, mother and daughter perhaps. And then there was the boy that defended me last night. He was sat on the end of the bed, the light from the window lighting up his hair like a halo, his bright eyes familiar and warm.

I looked at my shoulder. There was a faded _iratze_ there, but there was also three jagged red scars leading across to my collar bone. I reached up to touch my head, but winced at the pain.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Your head took a nasty bump" said the red haired girl. She moved to the side of the bed to put my hand down, but I flinched away. I suddenly felt very exposed and vulnerable. The two feelings I hate the most.

"Where am I?" I asked in low voice, hoping for confirmation that I was where I hoped to be by the ned of the night, even though I had hoped not to be in a hospital bed.

"The New York Institute," said the red head, proudly.

"And who are you?" I asked

"A-" she began, but the grey haired woman interrupted her.

"I think the better question is who you are?" I just stared at her. I had taken in instant disliking to her, whoever she was. An Institute was supposed to help fellow shadowhunters, make them feel unwelcome when they're lost and injured. "Answer me girl!" she demanded.

They answered one of my questions so I suppose I should answer one of theirs. I got the feeling that was how things worked around here.

"Whitelaw. Harley Whitelaw," I said. The old women's eyes widened in shock.

"You came from the Institute in London, yes?" she asked quickly

"Yes but-"

"Who was your guardian, your trainer?" she interrupted

"Charlotte Branwell," I said, still highly confused and slightly pissed off. I didn't come here to be interrogated.

"Branwell," she echoed angrily. She turned on her heel and stormed out the room. The brunette glanced and the young girl before following. I turned to look at the red haired girl for any explanation but she just smiled at me.

"I'm Adele," she smiled, "Adele Herondale. And this is my brother Jamie." The golden boy stood up and flashed a smile_. So, the mighty Herondale family _did_ exist_. "We apologise for our Grandmother. Her name is Maryse Lightwood. She runs the Institute here. And the other woman is our Aunt Isabelle." _Great, thanks for the family tree_, I thought. "Why don't we go upstairs so you can clean yourself up?" she suggested.

I got the awful feeling that I smelled of sweat and demon blood, which really isn't a good combination. Even though I was in a lot of pain, my aching muscles did not protest to the idea of a long, hot, steamy shower with soap. Lots and lots of soap.

"What clothes size are you?" Adele asked

"8 on top, and 6 on bottom," I said, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. She looked at me up and down questioningly. "That's UK sizes," I said realising that things are different in America. I stood up and the blood rushed to my head, making me dizzy. I took a step forward trying not to look faint. Suddenly arms were around me, a hand on my abs and another on the small of my back. I looked up to see Jamie steadying me. I did an awkward half smile which was meant to be a thank you, but I had a feeling it didn't really work out as he didn't smile back. He looked at me with creased eyebrows and worried eyes.

"I'll take her to one of the guest rooms," he said to Adele, his eyes never breaking contact with mine. His voice was low and dreamy, and travelled through the air like a ribbon. _Seriously, Harley, what is wrong with you?_

"Ok, I'll go find Cordelia and steal some of her clothes. Mine will be way too big on her," Adele mumbled as she hurried out the hall.

Jamie slung my arm over his shoulder and helped me along the long corridor of dark wood and one hundred doors. We approached the end of the corridor where an old metal elevator was waiting. He stepped inside casually and I looked at him with confusion. I don't happen to trust things so easily. The elevator didn't look very strong, especially not strong enough to hold people inside it.

He chuckled, "I'm not waiting here for you all day. It's perfectly safe. Been here since before my grandparents." I looked at the thing sceptically, before sighing and stepping inside. Jamie pressed a button and the death contraption, that my life would come to an end within, sprung to life with a jolt. Jamie chuckled at my face and I shot him a glare.

We stood in silence, listening to the creak of the cogs, neither of us wanting to break the silence first. Not that I minded, I wasn't exactly here to make friends.

"Why did you think you could take on that _Raum_ Demon?" he asked suddenly.

"Well, none of you noticed it," I replied sarcastically. "It would have killed that girl if I hadn't done something."

"It would have killed you if_ I_ hadn't done something. You put my whole team at risk." His voice was still low, but had coldness and anger running through it.

"Well maybe if you managed 'your team' a little better, I wouldn't have had to step in. Anyway, I didn't ask for your help, I had it under control." I could feel my voice rising as I spat my words at him. _How dare he speak to me like that! _

The elevator stopped violently and I grabbed the railing. Jamie let out a laugh under his breath rolling his eyes. He stepped out the elevator and I followed, limping towards where he was standing.

"You call getting your head sliced off under control?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

"That's an overreaction. I was fine. I didn't need your help." I folded my arms stubbornly.

"Well maybe next time I won't save your life."

"Fine, don't," I snarled.

We had moved so we were standing inches away from each other, so close that I could feel his warm breath on my nose. Our eyes were bright and wild, waiting for the other person to back down first. He let out a sharp breath through his nose, rolled his eyes and stormed down the corridor, taking my breath with him. I stared after him for a while, but then realised that I didn't know where I was going, and followed him.

The fourth floor was pretty much the same layout as the first; a long dark wooden corridor with all sorts of doors leading off to different rooms. About half way down the corridor he opened a door and gestured for me to enter.

It was a large room with a bathroom, a large double bed, a set of drawers and a mirror. Standard bedroom objects, I suppose. I saw the mirror and turned away. I didn't want to know what I looked like until after I had I shower. God knows what kind of shit I have in my hair. Adele was by the bed laying out a selection of clothes, along with a hair brush and shampoo and conditioner. Now those are things I needed. Adele smiled at me. I gave her an awkward smile of thanks in return, before she moved to stand in the doorway next to Jamie.

"Right, well… we'll leave you to sort yourself out. When you're done we'll probably be in the kitchen. Then you can introduce yourself to everyone," she smiled again and then shut the door. The door was almost shut when I caught a glance at Jamie, his face expressionless, but his eyes on mine. As soon as I heard the elevator churning, I locked the door to my room.

_Shower,_ I thought, _all I want right now is a shower_. I stripped off my clothes and tossed them into the bin beside the bed. They were sweaty and bloody from the club and I knew they'd be impossible to clean. I padded into the bathroom grabbing the shampoo and conditioner on the way in.

I allowed the warm water to wash over every part of my body. Allowed it to warm me up and wash away memories of the night previous. Let me tell you something, this shower had to be the best thing I had ever experienced and I have eaten a McDonald's double cheeseburger after a week of going vegetarian, so that is really saying something.

After my shower, I wrapped a towel around me and cleared the condensation off of the mirror. I wasn't perfect, no one was, but I've never minded my reflection too much. I have long light brown hair that goes to bottom of my rib cage (quite annoying to be honest, especially when you're trying to fight a demon, but I like it too much to cut it). My eyes are clear blue, an aspect of myself I have always liked, and I have thick dark eyelashes. I'm also of a medium height, probably about 5ft 6", or something like that. Charlotte always said I had really good cheek bones though I've never really noticed. Looks have never really mattered to me that much.

I exited the bathroom wrapped in a towel and looked at the array of clothes that Adele left for me on the bed. I picked up a pair of dark skinny jeans and matched it with a white cami. I threw them on, feeling comfortable again. My hair was still wet but there didn't seem to be a hair dryer about, so I brushed it lightly and kept it down on my shoulders.

When I opened the door, the corridor was dead. Adele said they'd be in the kitchen, but how the hell I was supposed to find that, I did not know. I decided to go adventuring, in the hope I'd find them somewhere. I walked on my toes, trying not to disturb the silence of the hallway.

I found the stairs, determined to take that death trap of a lift as little as possible, and made my way back down to the first floor. On the first floor I walked down yet another identical hallway. Behind one of the doors I heard the mumble of voices. _The kitchen, maybe?_ I peered in through the crack of the door, I saw the women Isabelle and the old women, Maryse.

"Mum, you can't beat yourself up about this. What happened, happened years ago. You didn't know back then," said Isabelle.

"It doesn't change what your father and I did," Maryse replied wearily.

"But it was years ago!" Isabelle exclaimed.

"Time doesn't change anything, Isabelle!" Maryse replied sharply. She sighed. "I recognised her soon as Jamie carried her in. She looks just like her mother. I can't look at that girl without seeing Marian's face."

"This girl doesn't know anything about her past; if she did she wouldn't have come here," Isabelle told her mother reassuringly.

"It doesn't matter if she knows or not, it doesn't change anything. It doesn't change what happened." Maryse sighed again, rubbing her eyes. "She is not to know, understood? Because if she leaves here, she'll have nowhere else to go. And who knows what would happen to her then. Am I clear?"

"Understood mother," said Isabelle quietly, defeated.

But I sure as hell didn't understand. Charlotte told me all she knew about my past was they found me when I was just 5 years old with is a note saying 'Her name is Harley Whitelaw'. I leaned back against the cold corridor wall, listening to my heartbeat drumming in my ears.

I didn't even know I had a past.


	3. Chapter 3

So exams are over! And we're back. We'll update as often as possible :)

Reply to MI cra-cra: Apologies if our description was not detailed enough for you - with limited amount of characters you have to think carefully about what to put. Clary and Jace are characters in this story, but not main parts, and so we apologise if that's what you were looking for. I thought by saying it was an OC (original character) story, people would get the general idea. If you would like to continue reading, please review about the content, and in future we will try to be clearer.

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Part of me wanted to run into the room and demand to know what they were talking about. The whole reason of coming to New York was that Charlotte told me this is where I'd find some answers. But the other part of me took into consideration what Maryse had said; if I ran in and didn't like what I heard, I wouldn't have anywhere else to go. I didn't have enough money to go back to London.

Suddenly the sound of footsteps coming up the corridor made me lose my train of thought, and I realised that I was still plastered to wall outside the room Maryse and Isabelle were in.

Making myself look as casual as I could, I turned my head to see Adele coming up the corridor, her red hair standing out in the dim lighting. I thought about asking for the hairdryer as a cover, but my hair was practically dry now anyways.

"Hey there, are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost," she asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied. "I was just trying to find the kitchen." I smiled, changing the subject. Not a complete lie. That was my original goal.

"By the Angel, I didn't tell you, did I?" Adele said, embarrassed. I shook my head. "You must be starving. Come with me, Josh just came back with Chinese take-out." She smiled with her gleaming teeth, linked arms with me and steered me in the direction of the kitchen. Having not eaten since my arrival at Newark Airport, I was pretty hungry and a Chinese didn't sound too terrible.

"You look nice by the way. Cordelia's clothes look pretty good on you."

"Thank you," I smiled, flattered. "Who is Cordelia? And are you sure she won't mind me wearing her clothes?" I wondered out loud. I had heard so many names and couldn't put a face to half of them.

"'course she won't! And she said all the clothes I gave you were too small for her anyway," Adele reassured me.

We went through a pair of tall swinging doors and entered a shiny silver kitchen. There was a worktop all around the edge of the room, along with typical kitchen appliances, and in the middle was a huge oak table. On that table was a huge pile of Chinese food at one end and three faces at the other. My stomach grumbled at the food and churned in response to the people.

Jamie was the first person I saw. He was prodding his fork around in a pile of chicken fried rice; he didn't look at me when I walked in. I rolled my eyes at the memory of our spat. Typical boys, stuck up their own arses.

Beside Jamie sat a girl, only a couple of years younger than me. Her big brown eyes and bleach blonde hair made her look so young and yet her creased brow made her face look hardened, as though she'd been through many hardships. She was also strong. I could tell just from the way her muscles strained against her tight white t-shirt. I watched her eyes judging me, looking me up and down as though assessing me. I felt uncomfortable but maintained eye contact. I never back down.

The final person was a tall and slender figure with green eyes and sandy hair. The boy seemed to be in lust with a box of chicken chow mein, as he shovelled forkfuls into his mouth, not aware of anyone else in the room.

"Don't mind him," Adele whispered, giggling at the sight of the boy. "He just really loves Chinese food. Take a seat and dig in." Adele winked at me, and then took a seat beside Jamie, saving me the displeasure.

I grabbed a box of sweet and sour chicken and pulled a chair up next to the sandy haired boy. Adele passed me a fork as I cracked open the lid and the smell of chicken hit me like a bus. I bit back a groan when the sauce touched my tongue and I savoured every bite.

"This must be Harley right?" the sandy haired boy asked, swallowing a mouthful of food and smiling at me, charmingly.

"Harley Whitelaw," I held out my hand and he took it, shaking it firmly. "You must be Josh."

"You bet, baby." He leaned back on his chair and winked at me.

"Yeah. No. Don't call me baby. I'm pretty sure your girlfriend would get jealous," I shrugged.

Josh looked confused. "Girlfriend? I don't have a girlfriend."

"Oh, I thought you and the chow mein were going steady?" I asked, with a smirk.

Adele and the girl began to laugh, and I spotted a small smile on Jamie's face, almost like he was fighting it.

"Apply cold water immediately after burn," the blonde girl chuckled, patting Josh on the shoulder as he looked sadly at his food. "Hey, I'm Cordelia."

"Hey, thank you for the clothes," I gestured to my outfit. "Mine were kind of ruined." I rubbed the back of my neck in memory of my shredded mess, and chuckled.

"Don't worry about it; you look way hotter in them than I did."- I blushed- "They're a size too small for me now anyway," she shrugged.

"Well, thanks, again," I smiled. There was a moment of silence as everyone picked at their food.

There was a sense of peacefulness about the silence, like they didn't need to talk, or pester me with questions. Everyone was content. I was long overdue a time like this. Then Josh broke the silence.

"Where're we heading tonight then?" He had a mouth full of egg noodles, clearly trying to prove my comment hadn't fazed him.

"Wherever the action is, I guess," Adele shrugged, looking to Jamie for an answer.

"I reckon we should scope out that club again." Josh landed all four legs of the chair on the ground "Popular restaurant that place. Fresh meat every night. It's like a demon hotspot."

"That's actually not a bad idea," Cordelia approved. "I've taught you well." She laughed, as Josh playfully punched her in the shoulder, and she shoved him back harder, almost knocking him off of his chair.

"So, when do we leave?" I asked. Everyone suddenly stopped what they were doing and turned to look at me as if I'd spoken another language. All four pairs of eyes were on me, in shock and confusion. I raised an eyebrow.

"What makes you think you're coming?" Josh teased.

"Are you kidding me?" I looked around, waiting for someone to laugh. But no one did.

"You took a hit to the head last night, you've been asleep all day and you wanna go out again tonight?" Adele exclaimed. "That's nuts!"

_What a bunch of pussy's , _I thought. My motto is: you get knocked down, you get back up and fight harder. It most certainly is not: you get knocked down, have a little rest and a hot chocolate and then get up 2 days later. That's not my style and never will be.

"Adele's right. You took a hit to the head. You're in no state to go out," Jamie said lifting his head so I could see his eyes. "You should stay here." _Was he advising me or telling me? _I scoffed.

"And _you_ should not go out without a babysitter," I retorted, staring back at him. I could see a smile tempting his lips and the flame in his eyes. He just clicked the inside of his cheek and went back to his rice as everyone around the table did the same.

Why should I rest if there 'aint no rest for the wicked, either?


End file.
